MOSCOW — Soon after he was first appointed prime minister back in 1999, Vladimir Putin joked to an audience of top intelligence officers that a group of undercover spies, dispatched to infiltrate the government, was “successfully fulfilling its task.” It turns out Putin doesn’t do jokes. Over Putin’s years in power, not just the...

Interim report could pinpoint location of missile launcher, widely considered to be in Russian-backed separatist territory An international team investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 will release its preliminary conclusions on Wednesday. The “interim results” of the criminal investigation might unveil new...

Report expected to say Buk missile was fired from separatist-held area in Ukraine and its launcher smuggled back to RussiaAn international criminal investigation into the shooting down of flight MH17 is likely to conclude that the plane was downed by a Buk missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, diplomats say.The...

Bulgaria ranks second in terms of deaths per capita caused by air pollution, showed data of the World Health Organisation published on Tuesday. With 118 deaths per 100,000 people, Bulgaria occupies the unenviable second position, immediately after Ukraine with 120/100,000 cases caused by pollution of the air with fine dust particles. Belarus...

The EU should not dismiss institutional cooperation with the Russia-led economic association. But Moscow’s previous behaviour with Ukraine and Moldova shows it won’t let its neighbours turn too much to the West. …read more Source:...